Operation Save the World
by xMikal
Summary: ATT: This story will start receiving updates again.***** Speedy and Robin in one mission? Eventually battling out for the glory? What will happen under 1 small roof during their stay in Gotham?


**Author's Note:**

**Phew, my old review requests were obnoxious. I apologize for my younger years.**

**So, I just went through and did a tiny bit of editing to this chapter, as I think I'm going to be picking up this story again. Please do not be surprised if their personalities change in the coming updates. This story is not meant to be in canon. Do not expect the events to be accurate to the comics or the show. It will probably reference and alter some events from both, but from the start, this was never intended to be canonical. **

**For anyone still left and reading...I dunno' enjoy the show XD**

The stagnant smell was almost unbearable.

It had been awhile, a very long while since he had last been here. Four, maybe five years had passed since he had laid eyes upon Gotham City. It hadn't changed much to say the least. Well…at least not this part of the city. A small smile stretched across his face as a cool breeze flittered through the window. It was cool and fresh. It felt clean, even though the city was filthy. It really had been a lot longer than he had realized. Eyes scanning the streets and stores, he saw that many of the things he knew were gone. The district still held the same dreary disposition that it had years ago, but the familiar setting of small family owned restaurants and mini-marts were long gone. Even if Roy had never been a resident of Gotham, something about the place made him feel at home, it made him feel safe.

Strange…

Feeling safe in Gotham's Crime Alley…

Go figure.

Perhaps…yes, that had to be the reason. Though Roy hadn't officially lived in Gotham, he spent countless nights over at Dick's. Yes, back before they became Speedy and Robin, before they devoted their lives to justice…Things had been a lot simpler back then. However, that was forever ago.

Back then Roy never wanted to be at home. Sure, Ollie had taken him under his wing, be he was highly incapable of raising a child. Roy loved spending days with his mentor, working and training to become the best, ever striving to become great. Yet, things with Ollie had changed over time. The Arrow partied wildly most nights and when he was younger, and often times there wasn't any room for Roy in Ollie's life. Most nights like these were spent in his bedroom...or at Wayne Manor.

In attempt to retreat from a small hell, he would leave for weeks on end to spend time with a childhood playmate. Being that The Bat was usually gone from the house; Alfred and Dick took Roy into their home welcomingly. Over the days he was at Wayne Manor, the two would spend their time training together, working themselves to exhaustion. Dick always excelled in hand-to-hand combat, pinning Roy in moments. It frustrated the archer, especially since Dick always used his cunning to win with ease. Though Roy failed miserably against Dick in this aspect, when it came to upper body strength and speed, Roy topped him by a mile. His endurance skyrocketed over the years and his upper body grew toned. Though the archer seemed to have natural talent, without Dick, he never would have trained as much as he did.

So, he continued to reside in Gotham in Wayne Manor for small increments of time.

Overtime, he simply grew attached to the place. After joining Titan's East, he honestly thought he would never return Gotham, he had placed it far back into memory, forgetting most of the years he had spent there. Yet now, he was here again, back to the place that he had once called home.

With a deep sigh, he pulled in from the window, feeling the muggy air of the apartment enclosing him in an invisible cage. The warm air rushed him with an immediate drowsiness, but he kept his eyes wide and forced himself to remain alert. With a stifled yawn, he walked over to the nearby bed and plopped down, eagle spreading across the lumpy mattress. The room wasn't the best by any means, but it would do for the time that he would need to spend here.

Eyes scanning curiously, he noted the wallpaper was peeling off near the ceiling. Beneath the once white –now gray- paper, there was an odd shade of teal and Roy pondered if the paper beneath was less hideous. Looking farther up, he noticed there was a dip in the ceiling, obvious water damage from who knows what. Odd rust colored stains were patched upon the ceiling, enough to where if you hadn't known any better you might have thought that it was intended to be some odd design. He presumed that long ago, the carpet had been some sort of tan-ish color. Now however, it was a grimy gray tint and stains were littered in all shapes, sizes and colors. There was a red stain in the left corner that he hoped was wine or grape juice, and there were blue stains from what he thought might have been paint and there were even thick clumpy white stains that Roy preferred not to think about. The bedroom door itself was entirely absent; hinges dangled from a doorframe, as it appeared the door had been brutally kicked in.

To Roy's dismay, the rest of the apartment wasn't any better.

As you walked out of the bedroom, the hallway had matching carpet and the walls with matching shredded wallpaper. Turning right, into the bathroom, a sickly stench wafted out making Roy's stomach flop upside-down. The tiles and the bathtub shared similar suspicious crimson stains and the faucets were rusted and orange. The shower curtain was a cheap, clear curtain and various blue shower curtain rings were missing from the rod. There were numerous cracks in the off-white sink and the mirror was actually missing a large chunk in the upper right hand corner. Roy honestly wasn't sure if he could handle cleaning up the bathroom, let alone actually using it.

The kitchen was just as bad, and the living room was big enough to possibly fit one small love seat and a small TV.

All of this depressed Roy greatly, but he wasn't here to live in luxury, he was here to solve crimes.

Just as his eyes began to close and he just barely began to drift to sleep, there was a loud knock upon the front door, causing him to groan in disbelief. He barely received an ounce of sleep since he began investigating this mission, and just as he thought he was going to have some peace and quiet, it _had _to be cruelly interrupted. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he reached above his head, stretching his back. Another yawn emitted from his tired mouth as another knock came at the door.

"HOLD YOUR HORSES!" Speedy yelled loudly, eyebrows sitting low on his forehead in annoyance. Damn people and their stupid damn need to interrupt what was probably going to be the best damn nap of his damn life. Damn it.

Standing on shaky legs, he slowly made his way to the front of the apartment, dragging his feet wearily all the way. Squinting as the light of the kitchen flooded his senses, he leaned against the door, peering through the peephole. Had anyone else been at the door, he would have merely walked back to the bedroom and happily plopped down, but no, the last person he would have expected to show up decided to merrily make their way into Roy's life. Opening the door, he stared daggers at the young man. He knew why he was here, and the sheer thought made him more furious then he would ever care to explain.

"What are you doing here?" the archer growled, glaring with every ounce of emotion he could muster in his tired state.

"Now, now Roy, is that anyway to greet your guest?" the other teen responded, rolling his eyes, but that wasn't apparent to anyone but him. The young man attempted to step into the apartment, but Speedy's hands gripped tightly on the doorframe.

"Damn it Dick, answer my question. What the hell are you doing here?" the archer's voice became low and growling once again. How dare he come and barge in on Roy's case. This was Roy's mission, his investigation, and his turn to prove to Ollie that he wasn't worthless, that he didn't need his mentor to accomplish the deliverance of justice. And of course, Dick Grayson had to have in on the glory. It had always been this way, every case that Roy ever had somehow ended up being solved by Dick Grayson, and Roy was left to wallow in his failure.

Not this time.

No, this time, Roy was going to solve the case, and he wanted to do it on his own. Even if Dick wanted to come and rain on his parade, Roy wasn't going to let him.

"Well Harper…" Dick said in a highly annoyed tone. "…I've come here for the same reason…" and with this, Dick pushed Roy aside, walking into the apartment. '…You've come here." The shorter of the two finished as his eyes scanned the sullied area.

"Harper…This place is disgusting," he added soon after. His face contorted in a repulsed expression as a gloved finger wiped across a shelf that hung against the wall. "You actually…live in this place?" he seemed surprised. Then again, living in Wayne Manor most of his life, Roy wouldn't put the snooty attitude past him.

"I don't live here…At least, not permanently. I'm only here for the time being because it's cheap and the doors have dead bolts…" Roy's voice faded as he watched Robin, watched as he rubbed the dirt between his index finger and thumb, examining it while holding it closely to his face. This aggravated Roy intensely to the point that he couldn't handle it, not while he was this tired.

"Robin, get your ass out of my apartment and out of Gotham. Go find your own damn case and get off of mine." Starting to raise his voice he pointed towards the door, not feeling the need to welcome this man in his territory any longer.

"Roy…I think you'd be keen too-…" but he was cut off as Roy interrupted abruptly.

"Damn it Dick! I've been investigating this case for _**months**_ now. _**MONTHS **_damn it. And I swear, if you try and steal my glory again, you're going to die a damn horrible death." His face began to turn as red as his hair as his voice rose higher and higher. Sure, he was already losing his temper, but that was like Roy, and he might have had a cocky, witty insult to shout had he not been so deprived of sleep.

"Easy there Roy…" Dick cooed with a coy smile on his face. He propped himself up on the kitchen counter, eyes gazing at Roy behind his mask. Searching, he attempted to locate some sort of silhouette of the other's eyes, but the deep red mask put this attempt in vain. He watched, as the other's face grew red with anger, watched as the muscles in his arms flexed and his fists clenched until his knuckles were white. He watched, as Roy seemed to be on the end of his rope, ready to strike out at any moment. He watched in sheer amusement of it all.

"Roy…I didn't come here upon free will you nitwit, I came here because I'm forced to be here. Bruce sent me here to help aid you in your mission, not take it over. Even if you were the most cunning hero in the world, you don't know Gotham like I do." Robin spoke with a tone that he reserved for occasions when his leadership skills were needed. The young man was stern, yet compassionate, serious but laid-back. Eyes scanning the archer before him, he took this time to add in before he would surely be interrupted:

"Besides Harper…

It can be like old times…

Just me and you, working together."

This time however, Dick's smiled was not pseudo, no this time he meant it. It had been ages since they had worked together. And to his satisfaction, Roy responded just how he presumed he would.

In moments, his muscles began to relax and his face seemed to calm. Even a small smile dared to peek out from his scowl. No matter what happened, no matter how jealous Roy grew of Dick's success, he could always find the right words to cool Roy's short temper.

"Yeah…like old times…" but this time, Roy's smile grew wide as he looked over at Dick. It was strange seeing him in the grubby apartment, strange seeing him in a place that did not suit him the slightest bit. There was the Boy Wonder, clad in his perfectly clean and starched costume, every inch of it fitting perfectly to his muscular figure, sitting on a nasty counter which was probably infested with pests. It was an odd sight to say the least, but something about it made Roy smile, maybe just more memories of when they were younger.

"Okay…" Roy finally said, opinion changing by a mile even though only a few moments had passed since he was fuming; typical Roy. He was so prone to mood swings that it was almost frightening. "You can stay…but under one condition…" he continued on, and Dick looked at him questioningly. "You're not, I repeat, you are NOT going to say ANYTHING when this case is solved. I get credit for my work, and YOU have to make sure you don't hog it all." Yet with this said, the joking tone in his voice had evaporated and a grave expression had replaced it. This time, even if Robin helped, Speedy was going to make sure that he didn't get all the credit like the Bird Boy managed to do most of the time. Of course, Dick nodded with a knowing grin before slipping down from the counter to extend his hands toward Roy.

"Deal." Grayson's voice came bluntly. The grin remained plastered on his face as he gazed over at Roy.

The archer seemed to debate this offering of assurance. He watched the other's hand intently, as though examining it for some hidden trap. After moments of awkward silence he reached out, gripping Dick's hand tightly and shaking in agreement. It was odd, Dick seemed off today for one reason or another…but Roy let it slide because he was sure that some days he was a little off as well. Still…

Even if they had both solemnly agreed upon their situation…

Roy had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Robin smirk…

And to be honest…

He didn't like it…

Not one bit.


End file.
